The Chainlink

WI Trails

Hello friends.

I am looking for a place to go camping this weekend in WI for the 4th. Does anyone recommend a great bike trail for a road bike that is close to a camping site? That is if it is not completely booked up already! Any suggestions?


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Permalink Reply by Joel on June 29, 2010 at 2:16pm
I'd also be very interested in this.
Permalink Reply by dan brown on June 29, 2010 at 2:25pm
the Elroy Sparta trail is gorgeous. It is a bit of a drive to get there., but worth in IMHO.
and there is a campground at the trail head.

Also - there is a path that goes from Madison to New Glarus (Little Switzerland).

there are lots of others though...not sure about camping availability

DB

Joel said:
I'd also be very interested in this.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on June 29, 2010 at 4:19pm
+1 on the Elroy Sparta trail and biking in Wisconsin in general and the south-east quadrant in particular. It is heartbreaking to see Madison sprawling all the way out to Mount Horeb (last time I checked) but even with the ticky tacky housing developments the country is still pretty beautiful.

Note that riding on most Wisconsin trails now requires $4 a day or $20 per year permit! It may have something to do with why their trails are better than ours, but it still rubs me the wrong way. I'm fine with paying to enter a state park on my motorbike, but for some reason I have this idea that bicycles, as superior vehicles, should get special treatment.

The official camp sites in Wisconsin get booked up early. Given the three day holiday I would guess that all the sites in state parks have been booked for months. Stealth camping can be kind of stressful, but it has its own rewards.
Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on June 29, 2010 at 5:39pm
Richard Bong State Recreation Area
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/bong/

It's within one-days ride from Chicago (a full day) and has lots of tent-only campsites.

West of Kenosha on Rt 142.

About 20 miles north of the end of the Des Plaines River Bike Trail, so it's almost all bike path up there.

Yes, it may be crowded or you may get assigned a spot far away from the showers!
Permalink Reply by CrackerBike on June 30, 2010 at 10:46am
Thanks for your help everyone.
Permalink Reply by Tony Adams on June 30, 2010 at 10:52am
Bob Kastigar said:
Richard Bong State Recreation Area
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/bong/ It's within one-days ride from Chicago (a full day) and has lots of tent-only campsites.
West of Kenosha on Rt 142.

About 20 miles north of the end of the Des Plaines River Bike Trail, so it's almost all bike path up there.

Yes, it may be crowded or you may get assigned a spot far away from the showers!

Bob, you are closer to the river than I am, but aren't huge sections of the Des Plaines trail a swampy muddy mess right now? I can't imagine after all that rain we've had that it would be passable for a touring rig by next weekend? The Cook County part of that trail is all dirt. The Lake County sections are much nicer crushed limestone and I'm guessing they'll be mostly ok after this week of low humidity and sun?

But wet or dry, visiting a place named "Bong" sounds like fun to me!
Permalink Reply by Allie O on June 30, 2010 at 11:17am
I camped in New Glarus last weekend and there were several trails in the area. There's the Badger Trail (http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/ORG/LAND/parks/specific/badger/index.html) as well as the Sugar River Trail. I think the Badger connects to the Jane Addams Trail as well.

Have a great time. Bonus: if you stay in New Glarus, the brewery there is fantastic and right across from the campground.
Permalink Reply by Ben on July 1, 2010 at 12:14am
Sugar River Trail! New Glarus State Park has good campsites less than a mile from the main trail, albiet likely booked. You could probably renegade a site off-trail, but be considerate of the farmers. It's an incredible landscape. The intersecting Badger State Trail is more rough, but also excellent.
Permalink Reply by Dan L on July 1, 2010 at 9:11pm
wife and I are doing a loop around the badger trail and sugar river trail with 2 nights in new glarus woods, as of a few days ago there were still campsites. Leave tomorrow after work and drive to monroe.
Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on July 1, 2010 at 9:54pm
Tony Adams said:
Bob Kastigar said:
Richard Bong State Recreation Area
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/bong/ It's within one-days ride from Chicago (a full day) and has lots of tent-only campsites. West of Kenosha on Rt 142. About 20 miles north of the end of the Des Plaines River Bike Trail, so it's almost all bike path up there.

Yes, it may be crowded or you may get assigned a spot far away from the showers!

Bob, you are closer to the river than I am, but aren't huge sections of the Des Plaines trail a swampy muddy mess right now? I

You're right - I didn't make it to clear. The way up there:

Take the North Shore Channel path up to the Botanic Garden
Go WEST about a mile, just past Rt 41
Go north on the Skokie Valley Bike Path
Go west on the North Shore Bike Path (along Thornwood Lane)
Go north on the Des Plaines River path

This part is pretty well maintained and avoids all of the unpaved and un-graveled part of the Des Plaines River Trail on the southern part of it, inside Cook County.

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